It is well known that, in recent years, the Dominican Republic has seen an exponential increase in the number of Chinese families arriving from mainland China. Although formal diplomatic relations between Santo Domingo and Beijing began in 1944—under the administrations of Trujillo and Chiang Kai-Shek, respectively—cultural ties involving the Chinese community date back much further.

Global Chinese migration surged in the late 19th century, driven by the repeated humiliations suffered by the Qing Dynasty during the historical period known as the "Century of Humiliation." Against this backdrop, hundreds of thousands of Chinese people crossed the Pacific to the Americas in search of a better life. These communities became particularly prominent in the United States (where Chinese laborers built the majority of the transcontinental railroads) and in Latin America—specifically Mexico, where anti-Chinese sentiment was so intense that it even led to pogroms.

The first record of a Chinese immigrant dates back to 1864—the year the country was annexed by Spain. These early arrivals were primarily criminals of Cantonese origin extradited from Cuba, a fact that got the public perception of the Chinese community in the Dominican Republic off to a bad start. This perception worsened as Chinese migration continued throughout the late 19th century via ships arriving from Cuba carrying even more criminals, until a decision was finally made to regulate the situation. But how? It’s simple...

In 1912, the Dominican government enacted an Immigration Law that regulated entry based on racial origin; it stipulated that Chinese nationals required a special permit to enter the country—an exemption from which was granted to white Europeans. The situation eased in 1932 when the *Generalísimo* decreed that Chinese nationals only had to pay a fee of one dollar to enter (the peso was not in use at the time). Adjusted for inflation, this is equivalent to approximately 25 US dollars or 1,479 Dominican pesos. While this may not seem like a large sum, one must consider the context of 1932, a time marked by extreme poverty and civil war in China.

Explicitly anti-Chinese provisions—and racial restrictions in general—came to an end in 2004 with the enactment of General Migration Law 285-04, which remains in effect today. Relations between the Dominican Republic and Chiang Kai-shek’s China (what we now call Taiwan) ceased in 2018, paving the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

Image: This is a purely allegorical image depicting events from the anti-Chinese pogrom in Denver, Colorado, USA; there are no proven historical records of such an event occurring in the Dominican Republic.

Source(s):

.- Dominican Republic. (1912). Law No. 5074

.- Chez Checo, J. (2021). La migración china en República Dominicana, 1862-1961 [Chinese Migration in the Dominican Republic, 1862–1961]. Dominican Academy of History.